Common Sense Media Says: OK for kids 15+

Exciting Indiana Jones-like action with lots of violence.

What Parents need to know

Parents need to know that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is an action adventure game about a treasure hunter that contains a lot of violence. While there are some platforming and puzzle-solving elements, a lot of the game focuses on combat. Players use machine guns, pistols, rocket launchers, and grenades to kill enemies, who might spurt plumes of red blood and fall down realistically. Drake can also punch and choke enemies and snap necks. The violence in this game seems greater than the previous two games in the series. The game also has some profanity and images of smoking and drinking.

Families can talk about the use of violence in video games. What is the impact of violence on kids?

What is it about action games that makes them so much fun to play?

Consumerism:Not applicable

Drinking, drugs, & smoking:Sully smokes a cigar, which can be seen in dialogue sequences. And there are a few locations in a bar, where you see beer, wine and liquor bottles, and people consuming alcohol.

Educational value:Some of the game involves solving puzzles which require reasoning skills.

Language:The game has some occasional profanity spoken by the lead character and others. this includes words like "s--t," "a--hole," bitch," hell," and "damn."

Positive messages:As with its predecessors, the game is about an adventurous treasure hunter who comes across various groups who want him dead. As a result, he must evade their attempts and fire back using various weapons. The game also has negative messages like greed, recklessness, and killing.

Ease of play:This game isn't too difficult to control, especially for those who've played the first two games in the series. The beginning of the game walks the player through body movement, combat, and puzzle-solving.

Positive role models:Nathan Drake isn't a bad guy, it seems, but we do see him as a scheming teenager in a playable flashback sequence early in the game (where he meets Sully for the first time) and he is a relentless treasure hunter as an adult. On one hand, he has a taste for adventure, which is good, but he also kills many people (but mostly in self defense).

Privacy & safety:Creates Privacy Concerns. The game includes an online multiplayer option, therefore it's possible to chat with others via a headset microphone during which you might hear swearing and could be asked personal questions. A PlayStation Network (PSN) account is required to play over the Internet.

Sex:There is some suggestive dialogue, including heavy flirting, but nothing too risque.

Violence:Combat makes up a good portion of the game, as Nathan Drake encounters many enemies he needs to take down before they do the same to him. Along with an arsenal of weapons that includes machine guns, pistols, rocket launchers, and grenades, he engages in hand-to-hand combat with fist-fighting, chokeholds, and even neck-snapping (the game is perhaps more violent than previous Uncharted games because of a stronger focus on these melee attacks). Blood can be seen when people are shot.

What's the story?

The action continues with Sony's Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, as fortune hunter Nathan Drake once again seeks to uncover the world's priceless treasures -- including a daring mission to the heart of the Arabian Desert to find the mythological city of Atlantis of the Sands. Taking place in different locations around the world -- and jumping around to different times, as well -- Drake's adventures also touch on an epic historical conspiracy that includes his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake, and others. As with its predecessors, the story-heavy gameplay folds in multiple game mechanics, including combat, exploration, platforming, and puzzle-solving. Not unlike an Indiana Jones movie, this cinematic third-person adventure features an epic solo campaign -- even playable in 3D on supported televisions -- along with head-to-head and cooperative (co-op) multiplayer modes.

Is it any good?

Naughty Dog's Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception impresses for its intense action, big and beautiful set pieces, exceptional character interaction, and stellar production values (including entertaining cut-scenes, competent voice acting, and Hollywood-quality music). While this game doesn't veer away from what made its award-winning predecessors so popular, this third PS3 thriller in the series will have you on your seat while you experiment with weapons and hand-to-hand combat, solve environmental puzzles, and engage in well-timed leaps over chasms and other obstacles.Once you play through the story campaign, you'll no doubt want to do it again with a friend beside you (split-screen) or online; plus there are other goodies to discover on the disc, too. There are a few very minor issues like some occasionally awkward camera angles that can obscure your view or questionable artificial intelligence (A.I.) niggles, but it feels like nitpicking when you step back and look at the interactive entertainment experience in its entirety. The game is simply one of the best in its genre.